Blog 20. 14 May 2008 BBC TV and Radio

Busy day today. Having had two open days last weekend, and another two this coming weekend, we had BBC Gardeners’ World filming today for 8 hours. BBC Radio WM decided to come along this afternoon, too, and did two live pieces on the radio. We all got quite tanned in the brilliant sun.

Whilst they were all here we had a telephone call from an epilepsy charity saying that they were sending someone to help at the open day being held on Saturday on their behalf. Then our son and girlfriend came to visit on their way back from visiting our other son in Switzerland. By this time there were 6 cars outside our house! The phone then rang again and this time it was someone asking about our open days because they had met someone who said that they just had to see the garden!

My husband is now asleep in the chair at 8pm!

Three days before our first open day the Express and Star newspaper ran a double page spread titled “The making of a garden” which featured several before and after photos. Because of that we had visitors from all over the West Midlands region, in addition to people who had seen it in the “Yellow Book” of the National Garden Scheme.

BBC Gardeners’ World will be filming our garden in spring, summer, autumn and winter and it will be televised on the lead up to Christmas. They asked if we had garden lighting and suggested that they could supplement it for the final filming!

They have asked if they can also come in June to see us doing work planting the begonias and summer bedding in the pots and tiered baskets.

They took selected vantage points in the garden where they will film in the different seasons. They logged the exact spot for the tripod and the height from the ground of the lens. They had a monitor which showed where the camera was pointing. On the sceen they placed some acetate and traced with black marker pen around key fixed points, e.g. the outline of the house, steps and so forth so that they could take the photograph of the exact view for the next season. The plan is to show that same view changing through the seasons like a time-lapse film.

The jungle tree ferns and bananas are beginning to unfurl.

The radio van mast was as tall as our house!

Both TV and Radio crews at the same time!

Hard to believe that the lawn had twenty chairs on it at the weekend – and withstood over 400 visitors!

Comments

It must have been a fun filled day for both hubby and yourself although I'm sure you must have been running around like a headless chicken all day no wonder your hubbie was so sleepy bless him.Hel.xxx.

what a busy day!! it's great to see you achieve such positive recognition from TV, radio and members of the public!! well deserved!! I shall be looking forward to ur TV appearance as Im curled up by the fireside with my mince pies!!

We liken the garden to a pack of wolves - we have to show it who's boss! Keep on top of it - that is actually less work than trying to get it back into shape. By not allowing weeds we don't have a problem with seeding weeds. Little and often is the motto!!!

We prune mainly in the winter, but carry on taking wayward growth out of acers and conifers in the summer, too. In the formal part of the garden the Aucuba (spotted laurel) are cut down to 6 inches in June because we don't need them because of the annuals and begonias. They then grow back and are bright yellow for the winter. We say the garden is like an orchestra - getting different parts of it to play at different times!

Wow - you are becoming quite the celebrity arn't you! And rightly so, you have worked so hard for this - now to enjoy the plaudits! Was interested to read how they do that time-lapse thing - I'm sure you can't wait to see how that turns out - make sure you set the VCR/DVD!!!

Do you get those days often? Open days and filmcrew? I suppose it is nice if you have a wonderful garden to be able to show it off, but I would like my privacy. I once had a wedding in my garden ( my sons though ), but I was glad when everyone had gone! So many "strangers" from daughter in law walzing through the house and garden. Hmmm. We really like our privacy.